The Ravens sacked Joe Flacco only two times, but turned one into a fumble return for a touchdown and forced numerous throwaways and one interception. (Baltimore Ravens)
brought to you by Kaz Company - call 216-901-9300
You must have an active subscription to read this story.
Click Here to subscribe Now!
Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns and NFL analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
BALTIMORE, MD
Turn out the lights. The party’s over. Baltimore wins again.
The Browns’ attempt to spoil the Ravens’ 30th birthday celebration spun out of control into a typical blowout loss to their franchise nemesis, 41-17, dropping them to 0-2 for the first time in Kevin Stefanski’s six years as head coach.
The score belies the Browns’ defense holding the Ravens’ high-powered offense to 244 total yards. But two turnovers and a blocked punt submarined the defense’s best efforts and eventually it wilted under Lamar Jackson’s Houdini escapes-turned-touchdowns.
Jackson found the end zone four times, beating backup cornerbacks Cam Mitchell (three times) and Myles Harden (once), who got extensive play time due to Denzel Ward’s day-long bout with cramping.
The Ravens knew all they had to do was stop one of their own, Joe Flacco, who is 40 years old, after all, and looked every day of it on a hot day in his old stomping grounds. Cast in the weird position of trying to win for his new team against his old team commemorating his greatest days, Flacco succumbed to a fired-up defense like he’d seen so many other visiting quarterbacks do in his 11 seasons here.
Flacco’s whole career was prided on getting rid of the ball to avoid sacks because he’s never been able to motor his 6-6 frame out of trouble. On Sunday, Flacco spent a lot of the game throwing the ball away and trying to run away.
The one time Flacco didn’t throw the ball away, it was intercepted with both Flacco and the Browns on the move, down by only 13-3 in the third quarter. Nate Wiggins returned it 60 yards before guard Joel Bitonio tackled him at the 5. Four plays later, on fourth-and-goal from the 2, Jackson beat Mitchell for the second of his three TDs allowed with a soft touch to Devontez Walker at the back of the end zone.
“I do take some pride in throwing the ball away and living for the next down, and I didn’t do it on that one,” said Flacco, whose 25-of-45 passing day included about a dozen throwaways. “I thought I had a chance there. I didn’t think it would end in a pick. I thought at worst it would be incomplete.”
Later in the fourth quarter, with the game out of hand, Flacco lost the ball on a sack by edge rusher Tavius Robinson and linebacker Roquan Smith, who had a monster game, returned it 63 yards for a touchdown.
“I’m embarrassed about that, that that came out of my hands,” Flacco said.
Flacco played one more series before being lifted for rookie Dillon Gabriel with 4:43 to play. Aided by a jumpstart, 31-yard run by Quinshon Judkins, who started and played a lot, Gabriel completed a 65-yard drive with an 8-yard scoring pass to Dylan Sampson.
Cue the question about if the coach would consider starting Gabriel as soon as Sunday against Green Bay.
“No,” Stefanski said, succinctly.
Pressed on if he thinks it’s premature to go to the rookie passer this early in the season, Stefanski said, “I don’t think it’s fair to talk about that right now. We win as a team, we lose as a team.”
Certainly, this was a team loss.
The Browns failed to hold a lead for the 11th time in the last 19 games. That’s because their special teams dug a 10-0 hole when they allowed a 23-yard punt return by LaJohntay Wester to set up a Ravens field goal and then blocked Corey Bojorquez’s fourth punt to set up Jackson’s first TD pass.
“We gave them 21 points via a blocked punt, a fumble recovery and an interception,” Stefanski said. “It’s hard to win when you do that. We own that. We understand the challenges that you’re confronted with in an NFL season. We’ll just keep our heads down and keep working.”
The Browns were last in 2024 with a horrendous turnover differential of minus-22 and they already are at minus-4 through two games.
“You definitely feel a little bit embarrassed when you lose like this,” Flacco said. “But it’s part of what you have to deal with in this league. You just get back to work and prove this was an anomaly and won’t happen again.”
The defense played tough again, but failed to produce a takeaway. Linebacker Devin Bush, who was all over the field, dropped a ball deflected his way in the end zone just before Jackson’s second TD pass.
Myles Garrett was involved in two sacks of Jackson and also was a force in limiting Derrick Henry to 24 yards on 11 attempts. Garrett’s 8-yard sack of Jackson highlighted a goal-line stand that forced a field goal after first-and-goal at the 1.
The defense almost did it again one series later after Wiggins’ interception return to the 5. But Jackson scored on the TD pass on fourth down after Bush’s interception drop.
“We put our defense in too many really, really tough spots,” Stefanski said. “We need to do better as a football team.”
“Look, our defense is playing really well,” Flacco said. “Until we take that next step and are playing good football … we don’t have to score 50 every night, but play good football and put up enough points and let those guys on defense pin their ears back and just go do what they do. That’s the disappointing part. I think we have the ability to do that right now. So hopefully that starts showing up.”
On a positive note, embattled kicker Andre Szmyt made all his kicks. He converted a 38-yard field goal and was 2 of 2 on PATs.
One brushfire extinguished. But more ignited on another humiliating afternoon in Godforsaken Baltimore.